Labor is Not a Commoditytag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-5425692014-05-01T20:49:13-04:00The International Labor Rights Forum, SweatFree Communities, and USLEAP work together in a collaborative space for international labor rights solidarity.
stLight.options({publisher:'91e08a1d-a78a-46d6-92d9-802d6bb8514c'});TypePad38.919211-77.037777http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.giftypepad/ILRF/international_labor_righthttps://feedburner.google.comMay Day 2014: Build a United Struggle for a Just Economy, an Egalitarian Society and a Democratic Politytag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bf90b53ef01a511aea730970c2014-05-01T20:49:13-04:002014-05-01T20:49:13-04:00By Gautam Modi, New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI), India May Day 2014 comes in the midst of the general election to the 16th Lok Sabha. With voting more than half-way through it is more apparent than ever before that the...Labor Rights<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><em>By Gautam Modi, New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI), India</em></p>
<p>May Day 2014 comes in the midst of the general election to the 16<sup>th</sup> Lok Sabha. With voting more than half-way through it is more apparent than ever before that the two dominant parties – the Congress and the BJP – and the vast swath of regional parties are not addressing the issues of livelihood, of social justice and democratic rights that concern working people most. The core issues of a living wage, of social security, of the right to join or form unions to voice grievances which goes with the fundamental rights of association and the right to free speech and the right to social equality between men and women and between uppers castes and discriminated castes are not issues before the election. And in fact the rights of those of the majority religion over those the minority religions, especially muslims, are being pressed while the right to dissent or to hold views differing from those of the BJP have come under attack. These actions are aimed at creating a communal divide in society in order to influence the electoral verdict. It must be our paramount task in the coming hours and days to fight this in order to defeat communal and right wing forces and to be able to sustain this struggle in the months and years ahead. </p>
<p>Along with Hindu majoritarianism the BJP offers an ‘alternative’ that in fact seeks to shift the economy further to the right through wider opportunities for private sector expansion and while reducing funds for social security and social protection. This is no alternative but merely a stronger commitment to neo-liberal policies and a stronger dependence on imperialist powers. The economic crisis, we are in, is a product of the very structure of the domestic economy that is dependent on external investment and therefore a persistent compromise with imperialist forces. This has contributed to a political crisis with a greedy capitalist class on whom the dominant section of the polity and bureaucracy are dependent and a restless middle class that is swinging towards majoritarian politics. The period of economic growth has collapsed into a phase of high inflation and declining growth resulting in enormous misery to all working people. Despite this, there is a consensus on economic policybetween the two dominant parties – the Indian National Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party and almost all regional parties irrespective of whether they are aligned with the United Progressive Alliance or the National Democratic Alliance or not.</p>
<p><strong>Human Needs before Profits</strong></p>
<p>Economic development remains the political rhetoric within the mainstream. Yet, over the last two decades, government supported and subsidised private sector expansion has resulted in a sharp widening of income inequality. In these 20 years both income and asset inequality between the rich and the poor has widened enormously. The profits of the present model of economic growth have been appropriated by capital and a small minority of people while the costs have been borne by the working class. Jobs that earn a living wage and an eight hour working day and access to health care, pensions, education, decent housing, public transport, drinking water and electricity are not a part of the dominant political discussion. The absence of decent jobs and the lack of access to basic civic amenities is the source of enormous deprivation and misery for the vast majority of working people. </p>
Low wages dragged down further as workers are forced to migrate in search of jobs, the lack of employment opportunities and increasing income inequality have contributed to rising social marginalisation. Women, dalits, adivasis, other oppressed castes and religious minorities, in particular muslims have been pushed to the margins of the labour market, if not out of it. They are not just losing opportunities of employment but also the opportunity of social mobility from one generation to the next. Low incomes and irregular jobs have affected access to adequate healthcare and a quality education, both of which constitute the key recognised necessities for intergenerational social mobility. The lack of opportunity is leading not just to further marginalisation but also to rising discrimination. Social inequality is increasingly contributing to discrimination, differentiation, prejudice, violence and hate crimes in society on grounds of gender, caste, religion, race, region and language.
<p><strong>Freedom for People, Not Corporations</strong></p>
<p>The inability to grow the home market has resulted in the failure to create jobs while destroying the livelihoods of those dependent on land. This has caused the spread of movements against land acquisition in rural areas especially amongst small and marginal peasants. Correspondingly in urban and new industrial enclaves the increasing employment of contract and other forms of irregular labour has contributed to united trade unions of both regular and contract workers. Increasingly all efforts at collective action and the exercise of right to freedom of association, even in the private sector, are being seen as acts of violence and criminalisation against the state and have been met with the force of the police. Democratic dissent and the assertion by peoples of their fundamental rights, including the freedom of speech, have come to be seen as anti-state and anti-development and are being violently put down. This constitutes a serious attack on fundamental political rights of citizenship.</p>
<p><strong>Build United Front of all Progressive Forces – We Can and We Shall</strong></p>
<p>The NTUI recognises that these challenges will not be addressed in one stroke or in one general election and as we play our part, as we must, in this election the struggle has to go forward beyond it too.</p>
<p>We know that none of the dominant political parties are reflective of the economic, social and political crisis and the necessity for advancing national development rooted in self-reliance and sustainability that can meet the needs and aspirations of the working class. Defending democracy and advancing democratic rights must be our primary task. This is imperative to build a struggle for a just and egalitarian society and advancing the rights of the working class. We cannot influence this outcome or effect change by ourselves alone. This is the time for the widest possible united front of all progressive trade unions and other forces and we commit ourselves to it. As we build our struggles we shall continue to stand in solidarity with struggles against repression and exploitation in other countries and strengthen our alliances with those we share a common purpose with. For it is only through our unity that we can build democratic militant union power. </p>
<ul>
<li>Protect Right to Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining</li>
<li>Wage Commission for all to Guarantee a Living Wage</li>
<li>Equal Wage for Equal Work</li>
<li>Universal Health care and Indexed Pension for all</li>
<li>Mandatory Reservation in Private Sector</li>
<li>Protect Livelihood Rights for all</li>
<li>Regularise all Contract Workers - Regularise All Honorarium Workers</li>
</ul></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/ILRF/international_labor_right/~4/YJU-hXMisrw" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/international_labor_right/2014/05/may-day-2014-build-a-united-struggle-for-a-just-economy-an-egalitarian-society-and-a-democratic-poli.htmlInternational Women’s Day: It’s About Women’s Wages & Women’s Voicestag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bf90b53ef01a3fccfd1f1970b2014-03-08T17:04:24-05:002014-03-08T17:22:18-05:00By Judy Gearhart, International Labor Rights Forum Many versions abound about how International Women’s Day came to be, but all stories lead back to 1908 when 15,000 women marched through New York City protesting violence against garment workers and demanding...Labor Rights<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><em>By Judy Gearhart, International Labor Rights Forum</em></p>
<p>Many versions abound about how International Women’s Day came to be, but all stories lead back to 1908 when 15,000 women marched through New York City protesting violence against garment workers and demanding better pay, better working conditions and voting rights. Their slogan was Bread and Roses – signifying the need for better wages and a better quality of life. In 1909 women workers marched again in Chicago, officially kick-starting a National Women’s Day. The next year, European women proposed building on the US idea and agreed to make March 8<sup>th</sup> International Women’s Day. This is one of the great manifestations of international solidarity among workers and women in particular.</p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341bf90b53ef01a5117fa257970c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Early1900sinternational-women-s-day" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341bf90b53ef01a5117fa257970c image-full img-responsive" src="http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341bf90b53ef01a5117fa257970c-800wi" title="Early1900sinternational-women-s-day"></img></a></p>
<p>Today, International Women’s Day is celebrated all over the world, but its popularization has left many unclear about its origins and significance. We need to reclaim the meaning of this day to help change the fact that: women in the US earn 77 cents to the dollar compared to men; women in Bangladesh make up 85% of the workforce for an apparel industry, which is quite literally killing them; and malnourished and underpaid garment workers in Cambodia who faint from exhaustion on the job are accused of “women’s hysteria”. Women need equal pay for equal work and the ability to bargain for better wages. Too many women have to endure violence or risk their lives just to make a living.</p>
<p>More than 100 years later, garment workers continue to suffer attack when they raise their voices at work and far too many have died in this past year simply trying to make a living. Today we remember our sisters in Pakistan and Bangladesh who were lost, or survived with debilitating injuries, the horrendous fires that ripped through apparel factories in 2012 and the gut-wrenching collapse of Rana Plaza in Bangladesh in 2013. We remember our friend <a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.ecouterre.com/meet-reba-an-18-year-old-survivor-of-the-rana-plaza-collapse-in-bangladesh/1" href="http://www.ecouterre.com/meet-reba-an-18-year-old-survivor-of-the-rana-plaza-collapse-in-bangladesh/1" target="_blank">Reba</a> who survived the Rana Plaza factory collapse and traveled throughout the US, despite her injuries, to help educate US students, activists and policymakers. Reba told us that her co-worker was slapped when she objected to the manager telling them they had to go into the factory that day, despite the visible crack in the building. These deaths are unacceptable and this abject disregard for women’s voices – for any worker’s voice – is appalling.</p>
<p><strong>We need to reclaim International Women’s Day for its original purpose: to advance women’s wages and working conditions and to give us all a voice in society. </strong></p>
<p>Today, more than ever before, women around the world are critical to economic growth and development. The World Bank recognizes this, as do many development experts, yet their drive for improving women’s economic participation is weak when it comes to improving women’s ability to organize, bargain collectively and have a stronger voice in society. Women have entered the formal sector workforce in droves over the past fifty years and their economic earnings have increased – marginally. Meanwhile, despite their pay checks, women’s right to participation has not gained as much ground. Industries with a majority of women in the workforce continue to have lower wages and fewer organized workplaces. Meanwhile few societies have changed the balance of household responsibilities, leaving most women facing the double workday.</p>
<p>Today we want to give a shout out to all the women around the world who are rising up to secure better wages and working conditions and to end the violence against women that keeps their voices down. This coming <a data-cke-saved-href="http://laborrights.org/events/2014-international-labor-rights-defenders-awards" href="http://laborrights.org/events/2014-international-labor-rights-defenders-awards">April 29th</a>, we are proud to be honoring women leaders from Honduras – Evangelina Argueta and Vilma Gomez from the Central General de Trabajadores – who are leading a cutting-edge initiative to improve workers’ rights in apparel factories there.</p>
<p><strong>Women are taking action in the streets in many places around the world today, including:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Women workers in Dhaka from multiple unions marched and formed human chains demanding safe conditions.</li>
</ul>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341bf90b53ef01a3fccfd259970b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="NGWF_IWD2014" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341bf90b53ef01a3fccfd259970b img-responsive" src="http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341bf90b53ef01a3fccfd259970b-500wi" title="NGWF_IWD2014"></img></a></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341bf90b53ef01a5117fa2c2970c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Womensdaydhaka" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341bf90b53ef01a5117fa2c2970c img-responsive" src="http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341bf90b53ef01a5117fa2c2970c-500wi" title="Womensdaydhaka"></img></a></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>In Phnom Penh, garment workers are raising their voices for a living wage and <a data-cke-saved-href="http://stream.licadho-cambodia.org/workers_forum_freedom_park/" href="http://stream.licadho-cambodia.org/workers_forum_freedom_park/" target="_blank">taking action</a> even though police <a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.phnompenhpost.com/video/womens-day-forum-blocked" href="http://www.phnompenhpost.com/video/womens-day-forum-blocked" target="_blank">block</a> their International Women's Day forum. This powerful, new <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=846648002019173&amp;set=vb.808979292452711&amp;type=2&amp;theater" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=846648002019173&amp;set=vb.808979292452711&amp;type=2&amp;theater">video</a> gives insight to the workers' struggle.</li>
</ul>
<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/_S5IZtgD0uI?rel=0" width="500"></iframe></p>
<p>Please help us support these women workers’ demonstrations and to build momentum behind them. Please join ILRF in celebrating and supporting women workers' struggles today and throughout the months of March and April. <strong>Here are some ways to get involved:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>March 25: <a data-cke-saved-href="http://rememberthetrianglefire.org/event/103rd-triangle-factory-fire-commemoration/" href="http://rememberthetrianglefire.org/event/103rd-triangle-factory-fire-commemoration/" target="_blank">103rd Triangle Factory Fire Commemoration</a><br><a data-cke-saved-href="http://laborrights.org/events/triangle-shirtwaist-bangladesh-garment-industry-tragedy-and-workplace-safety-reform" href="http://laborrights.org/events/triangle-shirtwaist-bangladesh-garment-industry-tragedy-and-workplace-safety-reform">From Triangle Shirtwaist to Bangladesh: The Garment Industry, Tragedy, and Workplace Safety Reform</a></li>
<li>April 24: <a data-cke-saved-href="http://laborrights.org/events/global-day-action-pay-rana-plaza-victims-need-compensation-now" href="http://laborrights.org/events/global-day-action-pay-rana-plaza-victims-need-compensation-now">Pay Up! Global Day of Actio</a>n, calling for justice for Rana Plaza survivors</li>
<li>April 29: <a data-cke-saved-href="http://laborrights.org/events/women%E2%80%99s-rights-apparel-industry-ending-violence-empowering-voices" href="http://laborrights.org/events/women%E2%80%99s-rights-apparel-industry-ending-violence-empowering-voices">"Women's Rights in the Apparel Industry: Ending Violence, Empowering Voices"</a> Conference<br><a data-cke-saved-href="http://laborrights.org/events/2014-international-labor-rights-defenders-awards" href="http://laborrights.org/events/2014-international-labor-rights-defenders-awards">2014 International Labor Rights Defenders Awards Ceremony</a></li>
</ul></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/ILRF/international_labor_right/~4/XB5fkl7UjdQ" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/international_labor_right/2014/03/international-womens-day-its-about-womens-wages-womens-voices.htmlKMU slams death threat vs. Mindanao labor leadertag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bf90b53ef01a73d6ab7ef970d2014-01-30T11:15:38-05:002014-01-30T11:15:38-05:00Media Release Jan. 30, 2014 Reference: Elmer “Bong” Labog, KMU chairperson, kmu.intl@gmail.com National labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno condemned today the contractor of a Japanese banana company for harassing and issuing a death threat against a union leader in southern...Labor Rights<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><strong>Media Release</strong></p>
<p><strong>Jan. 30, 2014 </strong></p>
<p><strong>Reference: Elmer “Bong” Labog, KMU chairperson, <a href="mailto:kmu.intl@gmail.com">kmu.intl@gmail.com</a></strong></p>
<p>National labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno condemned today the contractor of a Japanese banana company for harassing and issuing a death threat against a union leader in southern Mindanao. <br> <br> Vicente Barrios, president of the Nagkahiusang Mamumuo sa Suyapa Farm (Namasufa-National Federation of Labor Unions-KMU), was fired upon and held at gunpoint by Jesus Jamero, contractor of Japanese banana company Sumifru.<br> <br> Barrios was leading about 100 of Sumifru’s workers in a picket-protest in front of Jamero’s residence in Compostela Valley when the contractor came out carrying a gun.<br> <br> “We condemn Jamero for issuing a death threat against KMU leader Vicente Barrios. We condemn the Aquino government for emboldening and tolerating capitalists and their minions who make dire threats against workers,” said KMU chairperson Elmer “Bong” Labog.<br> <br> The incident was immediately reported to the local police but the latter, instead of arresting Jamero, questioned the workers for holding a protest.<br> <br> KMU said workers cannot help but treat such death threats seriously as leaders of progressive organizations in the region have been targets of extra-judicial killings. Barrios himself is a survivor of an ambush in 2006. </p>
<p>“The workers of Sumifru have every right to protest, especially after the company failed to comply with its compromise agreement with the union. The police officials who refused to act on the crime committed by Jamero should also be held accountable,” Labog said.<br> <br> He added that the police officials’ response to the workers’ complaint reflects the Aquino government’s disrespect for workers’ rights. <br> <br> Workers of the banana plantation conducted the picket-protest after Sumifru failed to pay them the first payment of five days’ basic salary last January 25 as stated in the company’s compromise agreement with the workers’ union. <br> <br> The agreement was a result of the victorious strike held by Sumifru workers in December last year.<br> <br> “Trade-union repression and grave violations against workers’ rights remain rampant and become even more more blatant under the pro-capitalist Aquino government. We demand justice for Barrios and all workers of Sumifru,” Labog said.</p></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/ILRF/international_labor_right/~4/HBA8xZBfVS0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/international_labor_right/2014/01/kmu-slams-death-threat-vs-mindanao-labor-leader.htmlPolice and employers together threaten union activists for organizing brick kiln workers in Bhilwara Rajasthantag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bf90b53ef01a5115ad658970c2014-01-27T12:46:05-05:002014-01-27T12:46:05-05:00By Sudhir Katiyar, on behalf of the Rajasthan Pradesh Int Bhatta Majdoor Union Madan Vaishnav, Secretary, Rajasthan Pradesh Int Bhatta Majdoor Union, along with three other union organizers – Shanti Lal Meena, Ratan Lal Bheel, and Shaitan Singh Raigar –...Labor Rights<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><em>By Sudhir Katiyar, on behalf of the Rajasthan Pradesh Int Bhatta Majdoor Union</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Madan Vaishnav, Secretary, Rajasthan Pradesh Int Bhatta Majdoor Union, along with three other union organizers – Shanti Lal Meena, Ratan Lal Bheel, and Shaitan Singh Raigar – was served a notice by the Sub Division Officer Mandal under Section 107/116 restraining him from undertaking provocative activities viz. organizing brick kiln workers. Mandal town has almost 100 brick kilns in its vicinity mostly employing inter-state seasonal migrants from UP and Bihar. The Rajasthan Pradesh Int Bhatta Majdoor Union was registered last year to organize these workers so that they can get minimum wages and other rights. Last year the workers had gone on a strike for three days demanding higher wages. During the strike the owners had attacked a procession of workers. Finally there was a settlement leading to higher wages.</p>
<p>This year, the Union has given a call for a public meeting on 25<sup>th</sup> January. It is currently meeting workers who also stay at the brick kilns. This year the employers have erected large brick walls around their kilns virtually imprisoning the workers. On 18<sup>th</sup> January, when the Union team went to a brick kiln to meet the workers, the brick kiln owner got very upset. He collected a large number of employers who then went to the police station Mandal and lodged a complaint making allegations that Union is instigating the workers. The police regsitered a case under section 107 and 116 restraining the union activists from doing any unlawful activity. The owners also gave a memorandum to the local SDM saying that permission should not be given for holding the meeting on 25th. The Union has also given memorandum to the police and district authorities seeking protection during the meeting.</p>
<p>Overall the situation remains tense. The brick kiln owners want to make sure that the public meeting does not succeed. They are likley to adopt all possible measures. Probability of violence against union team also looms large. </p></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/ILRF/international_labor_right/~4/0MB_SEMR8dI" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/international_labor_right/2014/01/police-and-employers-together-threaten-union-activists-for-organizing-brick-kiln-workers-in-bhilwara.htmlBurmese workers in Thailand organize, negotiate and win!tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bf90b53ef01a3fc7df6e0970b2014-01-20T09:07:22-05:002014-01-21T06:42:46-05:00By: Abby Mills, International Labor Rights Forum, from Mahachai, Thailand. Protestors shutting down Bangkok to force the current government from power have grabbed international headlines this week. Meanwhile, efforts for a quieter revolution to improve the power dynamic between millions...Labor Rights<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><em>By: Abby Mills, International Labor Rights Forum, from Mahachai, Thailand.</em></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341bf90b53ef01a5112d37cd970c-pi" style="float: right;"><img alt="Aung Kyaw leading meeting" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341bf90b53ef01a5112d37cd970c img-responsive" height="365" src="http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341bf90b53ef01a5112d37cd970c-320wi" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px 5px;" title="Aung Kyaw leading meeting" width="253"></img></a>Protestors <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/19/us-thailand-protest-idUSBREA0H04S20140119" target="_self">shutting down Bangkok</a> to force the current government from power have grabbed international headlines this week. Meanwhile, efforts for a quieter revolution to improve the power dynamic between millions of migrant workers and their Thai employers took a significant step forward an hour south of Bangkok in Samut Sakhorn, one of the primary seafood processing areas in Thailand. Workers from one of the largest shrimp factories here have negotiated a settlement with their employer and developed an agreement for a representative labor committee within the factory. The workers collaborated closely with the Migrant Workers Rights Network (MWRN), and had support from ILRF.</p>
<p>The issue started when MWRN, through previous engagement with the employer, learned that management was about to issue an ultimatum. The shrimp disease ravaging the industry had cut supply to the point that the employer wanted to demand workers take an additional day off, but was not going to offer the 75% salary mandated by Thai law for such forced work stoppage. The employer was going to ask workers to voluntarily sign away the right to the additional pay. Those who didn’t would be terminated.</p>
<p>MWRN pulled together a group of 30 workers to come up with a plan. They arrived in the bed of a pick-up truck around 8 p.m. on a Saturday night. They had worked all day, and their shift would start again at 6 a.m., but they stayed until midnight, discussing their options. They did not want the employer to move forward, as they thought many in the factory would sign to avoid losing their jobs. They talked through the potential fall-out if they or their colleagues were laid off for standing up to the employer. Some thought they should just sign and not make waves. Others argued that doing so would not only be bad for their plant, but for others across the industry as managers saw it was OK to force workers to give away fundamental rights. They came to the conclusion that the only option was to engage with the employer before the mandate was given and try to come to more beneficial terms. If they could not reach a settlement, they would continue to fight, encouraging the workers to protect the rights to which they are legally entitled.</p>
<p>The negotiations turned out to be beneficial all around. Workers at the factory can agree to take the additional day with a monthly support payment that makes up for about 50% of the lost wages, or they can agree to leave with severance pay. No worker that agrees to stay under the new conditions will be fired against his or her will. When the disease has passed and production picks up again, workers will resume their standard six-day week and the monthly support payment will come to an end. Management acknowledged they had not communicated well with the workers, and apologized in an all-staff meeting. In addition, the workers will form a labor committee within the factory composed of representatives the workers select themselves. Management will be able to take into account worker views quickly when making decisions and reach agreements to streamline plant operations. When workers have concerns, there is a body to which they can take those concerns, and an understanding that management will work to rectify them.</p>
<p>Most of the workers at the plant, like most of the workers in the Thai seafood industry, are migrant workers from Burma. Faced with frequent discrimination and unaware of their rights, these workers are vulnerable to abuse from employers and police alike. MWRN is an organization founded and led by migrant workers that educates their peers about their rights under Thai law and empowers them to stand up for those rights.</p>
<p>In this case, the the factory owners with which they were negotiating saw the benefit of positive worker relations. MWRN had worked with them in the past, and even been allowed to conduct a worker rights seminar at the factory during work hours. That relationship allowed not only a positive discourse on this particular issue, but a plan for more frequent engagement to smooth the way when problems arise in the future. This is an important step forward for the industry, and one that should be followed by others. When workers and employers work together to improve working conditions, everyone wins.</p></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/ILRF/international_labor_right/~4/oc6KJfavEaw" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/international_labor_right/2014/01/burmese-workers-in-thailand-organize-negotiate-and-win.htmlHow the U.S. Government Can Follow Its Own Advice to Be a Responsible Consumertag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bf90b53ef019b0382e849970d2013-12-23T06:10:10-05:002013-12-23T09:04:31-05:00By Bjorn Skorpen Claeson, International Labor Rights Forum Today, the New York Times reports child labor, blocked fire exits, unsafe buildings, forced overtime and a range of other illegal, unsafe, and abusive conditions for garment workers in factories in Bangladesh,...Labor Rights<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><em>By Bjorn Skorpen Claeson, International Labor Rights Forum</em></p>
<p>Today, the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/23/world/americas/buying-overseas-clothing-us-flouts-its-own-advice.html" target="_self"><em>New York Times</em></a> reports child labor, blocked fire exits, unsafe buildings, forced overtime and a range of other illegal, unsafe, and abusive conditions for garment workers in factories in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Haiti, Mexico, and Thailand. These factories have at least one thing in common: the United States government is a customer. That means these abuses take place with the support of our tax dollars and are carried out in our names. It also means the Obama administration “flouts its own advice” to private sector companies to use their purchasing power to improve working conditions in overseas garment factories.</p>
<p>Because the U.S. government is the world’s single largest buyer it could create a significant push for safe and decent working conditions in supplier factories across the globe by practicing what it preaches. How would it do that?</p>
<p>First by establishing that illegal and abusive conditions are in fact unacceptable for purchasing by the U.S. government. Today, most of the abuses uncovered by the <em>New York Times</em> do not cause any alarms to go off for US contracting officers. Presidential executive orders from 1999 and 2012 prohibit only forced child labor and human trafficking in government contracting, but tacitly permit other illegal and abusive behaviors.</p>
<p>Here are 10 steps the U.S. government should take to be a responsible consumer:</p>
<p><strong>1. </strong><strong>Set Labor Standards for Overseas Procurement</strong></p>
<p>Apparel and other products should be off limits for the U.S. government if the factories and other high-risk points in the supply chain do not comply with applicable laws and regulations and internationally accepted labor standards. These standards include workers’ right to protect themselves by organizing unions, negotiating legally binding collective bargaining agreements, and, if necessary, refusing dangerous work. The U.S. government should also ensure that supply chain workers earn enough wages to lift themselves and their families out of poverty.</p>
<p>Procurement labor standards would be more than just another voluntary and non-binding “code of conduct” adopted by the private industry. They would be part of the contractual commitment of U.S. government suppliers, and, as such, legally binding and enforceable.</p>
<p><strong>2. </strong><strong>Make Sure Domestic Suppliers Follow the Law</strong></p>
<p>Most apparel purchased by the U.S. government is made in the United States. But, domestic production does not necessarily mean decent and legal conditions.</p>
<p>On December 11, 2013 U.S. Senator Tom Harkin and the Center for American Progress released <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/11/business/study-finds-federal-contracts-given-to-flagrant-violators-of-labor-laws.html" target="_self">reports on widespread worker safety and wage violations in U.S. government contractor facilities</a> that are located in the United States. That means the U.S. government must closely track pay and benefits, and the legal compliance of domestic contractors. It must also implement remediation requirements to make sure all U.S. workers who make products for the U.S. government work in lawful conditions.</p>
<p><strong>3. </strong><strong>Insource Services</strong></p>
<p>Consistent with the law, the U.S. government should actively consider opportunities for in-sourcing services that are closely associated with inherently governmental functions or are poorly performed by private contractors. Similarly, the U.S. government should not contract out services performed by federal employees.</p>
<p><strong>4. </strong><strong>Identify the Factories that Supply the Government</strong></p>
<p>The <em>New York Times</em> exposé of abuses in overseas U.S. government contractor facilities was no small feat because these facilities are hidden from public view. If these facilities continue to operate in the dark, without US government oversight, nothing will change.</p>
<p>Therefore, the U.S. government should require that bidders disclose the names and addresses of all factories that will perform work under a subcontract prior to the contract award. In addition, contractors and subcontractors must be required to share what they know about working conditions in those factories. They must be required to release all social audits and inspection reports to the U.S. government. They should also share these reports with workers to make sure workers know about workplace dangers and labor violations and can protect themselves as necessary.</p>
<p><strong>5. </strong><strong>Address Root Causes of Labor Violations</strong></p>
<p>Complying with the law is not only the factory’s responsibility. Sometimes the root causes of labor violations go back to the prices, order schedules and other purchasing requirements imposed by the buyers. Low prices can mean that factories lack essential resources to maintain safe conditions. Emergency orders can result in extreme production peaks, excessive overtime for workers or unauthorized subcontracting to facilities that operate illegally.</p>
<p>The U.S. government should require contractors to establish and implement responsible purchasing practices as a matter of human rights due diligence. Absent responsible purchasing practices, contractors will not have the ability to guarantee labor compliance in their supply chains.</p>
<p><strong>6. </strong><strong>Recognize that Labor Compliance is a Process</strong></p>
<p>Good working conditions are never easy to realize. They require ongoing work.</p>
<p>Consequently, contractors should not simply be required to certify to using “good factories.” Instead, they should be required to present their work plan for good conditions, a compliance plan similar to the plan required under Executive Order 13627 (Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking in Persons in Federal Contracts). The work plan should address all steps necessary to prevent illegal and unsafe conditions, including responsible purchasing practices, labor rights education, indendent inspections, and an effective grievance process for workers.</p>
<p><strong>7. </strong><strong>Go Beyond Industry Social Auditing Practices</strong></p>
<p>The U.S. government should reject industry social auditing practices that have time- upon-time failed to protect workers from deadly safety hazards. Contracting officers should not accept industry social audits or certificates, often compromised by conflict of interest, as proof of compliance or as evidence of human rights due diligence. Instead, the U.S. government should arrange for inspections by independent experts have no relationship with the factories or their buyers. <a href="http://bangladeshaccord.org/" target="_self">The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh</a> offers a good inspection model.</p>
<p> <strong>8. </strong><strong>Establish a Complaint-Driven Investigation and Remediation Process</strong></p>
<p>The U.S. government should provide for a complaint-driven investigation and remediation process that allows any person or organization to submit a complaint that a contractor or subcontractor has been or is failing to comply with the terms of the contract or procurement policy. Contractors must be required to cooperate fully with investigations. Prime contractors should also ensure that each subcontractor cooperates fully with investigations.</p>
<p> <strong>9. </strong><strong>Make Workers Whole</strong></p>
<p>The U.S. government should consider “remediation” from the workers’ point of view. Ensuring that exploited workers have access to appropriate remedies and services, and are not left in situations that expose them to further exploitation, should be the top priority in any remediation process. The application of contractor sanctions, such as termination of contract or monetary penalties, should be subservient to the goal of making workers whole.</p>
<p><strong>10. </strong><strong>Set Up a System of Interagency Coordination and Multi-Government Collaboration</strong></p>
<p>A collaborative body that pools federal agency resources can be tasked with developing a system to evaluate the integrity of contractor compliance plans and to coordinate monitoring and investigatory activities. A collaborative effort on verification and compliance would provide far greater efficiency to all agencies than a go-it-alone or outsourced approach. A standardized approach across government agencies would also mitigate confusion among contractors and suppliers. Federal procurement authorities should also join with <a href="http://buysweatfree.org" target="_self">state and local government efforts</a> to pursue responsible purchasing, pool resources, share supply chain information, and coordinate monitoring and other enforcement activities.<ins cite="mailto:Bjorn%20Claeson" datetime="2013-12-23T10:34"></ins></p>
<p><em>Bjorn Claeson is a senior policy analyst at the <a href="http://laborrights.org" target="_self">International Labor Rights Forum</a> and the executive director of the <a href="http://buysweatfree.org" target="_self">Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium</a>.</em></p></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/ILRF/international_labor_right/~4/4qXp5q-zEn0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/international_labor_right/2013/12/how-the-us-government-can-follow-its-own-advice-to-be-a-responsible-consumer.htmlJustice for Workers on International Migrants Daytag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bf90b53ef019b033abcbd970d2013-12-18T11:45:04-05:002013-12-18T15:17:48-05:00By: International Labor Rights Forum December 18, International Migrants Day, is a day to reflect on the growing impact of worker migration and urge policies to protect these often vulnerable workers. The global economy is fueling a rise in workers...Labor Rights<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><em>By: International Labor Rights Forum <br></em></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341bf90b53ef019b033ab699970d-pi" style="float: right;"><img alt="Migrant day for blog" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341bf90b53ef019b033ab699970d" height="202" src="http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341bf90b53ef019b033ab699970d-320wi" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px 5px;" title="Migrant day for blog" width="301"></img></a>December 18, <a href="http://www.un.org/en/events/migrantsday/" target="_self">International Migrants Day</a>, is a day to reflect on the growing impact of worker migration<br>and urge policies to protect these often vulnerable workers. The global economy is fueling a rise in workers leaving their homes in search of better opportunities. Also on the rise, sadly, is gross exploitation of an often vulnerable population, far from their homes and networks of support, and often reliant on their employers for their very right to remain in country.</p>
<p>Migrant workers are subject to labor abuses such as wage theft, failure to pay the minimum wage, or being deprived of legally-mandated benefits. Yet they often lack the power to speak out. More serious abuses are also common. In many parts of the world, being a migrant worker is a risk factor for human trafficking. The ILO estimates that there are 21 million forced laborers in the world today, and of them, more than 40% migrated from their home into the forced labor situation.</p>
<p>Governments can make a difference to protect migrant workers. That is why the International Labor Rights Forum supports broad ratification of the <a href="http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cmw/cmw.htm" target="_self">U.N. International Convention on the Protection of Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families</a>. The Migrant Workers Convention provides the first comprehensive definition of an “international migrant,” and identifies the protections that are essential to migrants and their families, such as the same rights to education and healthcare as national citizens. It extends fundamental human and labor rights to all migrant workers and members of their families, both documented and undocumented. Unfortunately, only 46 countries have ratified the Migrant Workers Convention to date, and the United States is not one of them. (Click <a href="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5702/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=12323" target="_self">here</a> for a petition asking the U.S. to join!) We urge more countries, particularly those that receive large numbers of migrant workers like the United States does, to adopt this convention and begin changing national laws to fulfill its mission of justice and equality.</p>
<p>We have worked particularly closely with migrant workers’ groups in Thailand, which is home to an estimated 3 million migrant workers, 80% of whom came from Thailand. Since the late 1980s, these workers have irregularly crossed borders to work in mostly dirty, dangerous and demanding jobs in Thailand thereby, significantly contributing to Thailand’s economy and providing billions of dollars in remittances to support relatives in origin countries. These workers continue to face significant exploitation and confusing piecemeal government migration policies.</p>
<p>Two important ILRF partners -- the Migrant Worker Rights Network (MWRN) and State Enterprise Workers’ Relations Confederation of Thailand (SERC) -- have been vocal in protecting these workers’ rights. They issued a statement marking International Migrant’s Day and asking the Thai government to take the following steps to protect migrant workers there:</p>
<p>• Migrants should be treated equally to national workers. Migrants are entitled to equal protection under the law without discrimination on any grounds as a principle enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Migrants should be protected by related laws governing labor protection, social security, health coverage and work accident compensation.</p>
<p>• An understanding by migrants of the right to association and collective bargaining under ILO Conventions 87 and 98 should be ensured to foster migrants’ participation as members of trade unions. Membership in trade unions will enable all migrant workers to have wage and welfare negotiations with employers and provide a means for migrants to enhance their quality of life.</p>
<p>• Clear policies and guidelines for a long term migrant workers administration plan should be created, particularly regarding registration, nationality verification and increased efforts by the State and all its officials to work concertedly and connectedly to promote migrant wellbeing.</p>
<p>• The migrant import (MoU) process should be simplified to facilitate employers to file an application to employ migrants from overseas without relying on brokers. This will promote investment, reduce costs for migrants and prevent exploitation and trafficking.</p>
<p>• Migrants should have freedom to change their employer, as the current overdependence on employers make migrant workers more likely to become victims of forced labor, debt bondage and trafficking.</p>
<p>• A regulation requiring migrants’ workplaces to include childcare centers should be created to ensure workers can maintain a healthy work/life balance and to prevent migrant children from being open to exploitation as well.</p></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/ILRF/international_labor_right/~4/WJCrfeCLJ9g" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/international_labor_right/2013/12/justice-for-workers-on-international-migrants-day.htmlBangladesh garment factory crisis is a women's crisistag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bf90b53ef019b02c05253970d2013-12-12T15:43:27-05:002013-12-12T15:43:27-05:00By: Judy Gearhart, executive director International Labor RIghts Forum The crisis in the Bangladesh Apparel industry is really a women’s issue and something all advocates of women’s rights and equality should be deeply concerned about. To be clear, we are...Labor Rights<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><em>By: Judy Gearhart, executive director International Labor RIghts Forum</em></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341bf90b53ef019b02bfd69b970b-pi" style="float: right;"><img alt="Bangladesh womens rights meeting_blog" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341bf90b53ef019b02bfd69b970b" src="http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341bf90b53ef019b02bfd69b970b-320wi" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px 5px;" title="Bangladesh womens rights meeting_blog"></img></a>The crisis in the Bangladesh Apparel industry is really a women’s issue and something all advocates of women’s rights and equality should be deeply concerned about. To be clear, we are not talking here about individual cases of discrimination at work and the need for more equitable labor justice – although there is a need for improving that as well.</p>
<p>Our focus here is on systemic, society-wide discrimination and development strategies that have further entrenched that discrimination. These issues echo around the world in industry after industry built primarily on women’s labor. But they have been brought into stark relief in Bangladesh, where more than 1,200 workers – most of them women – have died during the last year due to negligence and disregard for their welfare.</p>
<p>Bangladesh has industrialized at an incredibly rapid rate and its garment industry is the second largest exporter in the world after China. The Bangladesh apparel sector employs 4 million workers and accounts for 80% of the country’s exports; 85% of the workers are women.</p>
<p>Growing the apparel industry has been so important for Bangladesh; yet there are laws on the books designed to minimize workers’ organizing for better wages, benefits, and working conditions. These limit workers’ ability to speak up. And because the industry disproportionately employs women, women’s ability to participate in society is disproportionately limited.</p>
<p>So although some development economists argue that bringing women into formal sector employment is good for development, they are not necessarily looking at whether or not these women are able to develop to their full potential as a result. I got my start working on women’s rights in the Mexican Maquiladoras, where some similar issues prevailed:</p>
<ul>
<li>Women’s role at work changed, but their role in society remained subservient, creating the double work-day; </li>
<li>women found that income brought them certain liberties, but violence against women increased; </li>
<li>there were significant increases in single-women headed households in maquila dominated cities like Ciudad Juarez; </li>
<li>community break downs; and </li>
<li>youth violence emerging as a result of idle youth with too little parental guidance.</li>
</ul>
<p>In Bangladesh, we are at a critical juncture. We hope to work with allies in Bangladesh and around the world to find ways to leverage this moment and continue reshaping development policies to view women’s rights as an end, not a means to development.</p>
<p>The tragedies of the past year – which have cost the lives of 1,500 workers in Pakistani and Bangladeshi apparel factories – have been a wake-up call for the apparel industry and there is real impetus for change.</p>
<p>ILRF and our allies – BCWS, CCC, and WRC – have been documenting these tragedies since the Spectrum factory collapse killed 64 Bangladeshi workers in 2005. In case after case, workers have told us how their concerns were disregarded, even when they smelled smoke or saw cracks in the wall. One woman we’ve met, Nazma, broke her back jumping from a third-floor window at Tazreen. She saw her manager locking the gate to the exit on her floor. She reached through and grabbed him by the collar, beseeching him to unlock it, but he pulled away, even as the smoke was coming onto their floor. The mother of three, Nazma has already had to pull her 14-year-old son out of school to work because the little compensation she got was wiped out by medical expenses. She is one of thousands with a similar story.</p>
<p>We have the attention of development aid agencies and global apparel brands from around the world, but many of them are focused on the need for a technical fix; they are hiring more auditors and more trainers, but not changing their overall approach. They are talking about ‘worker-centered’ solutions, but not necessarily about ‘worker-driven’ solutions. We need to put workers in the driver’s seat so they have a role in deciding the improvements and safeguards needed as well as in the governance and implementation level of inspection programs being put in place.</p>
<p>ILRF is part of a coalition of NGOs, trade unions and global brands that have developed the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Accord, which has as its central pillars: transparency, a binding commitment by the brands to ensure worker safety; and meaningful trade union participation at the governance and implementation levels.</p>
<p>We are up against a coalition of US companies, called the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, which does not address the role of workers and trade unions in any meaningful way.</p>
<p>So for us this is a critical moment to be able to argue how ensuring workers’ – especially women workers’ -- leadership in the solution is essential to ensuring effective improvements and to advancing women’s role in society.</p>
<p>Because at the core of the debate is how to ensure the solutions being brought forward will address the root cause to the problem, which is that women’s voices and ability to act have been disproportionately repressed.</p>
<p> </p></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/ILRF/international_labor_right/~4/mx_WrkBilWs" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/international_labor_right/2013/12/bangladesh-garment-factory-crisis-is-a-womens-crisis.htmlWorkers Give Message to RSPO: Don’t Certify Abuse!tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bf90b53ef019b01137054970c2013-11-14T10:47:17-05:002013-11-14T12:45:42-05:00By Eric Gottwald, International Labor Rights Forum Medan, Indonesia—This week hundreds of oil palm workers and their allies crashed the 11th annual meeting of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a multi-stakeholder organization that promotes “sustainable” palm oil, to...Labor Rights<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><em>By Eric Gottwald, International Labor Rights Forum</em></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341bf90b53ef019b01136921970c-pi" style="float: right;"><img alt="Serbundo's demand" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341bf90b53ef019b01136921970c" src="http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341bf90b53ef019b01136921970c-320wi" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px 5px;" title="Serbundo's demand"></img></a>Medan, Indonesia—This week hundreds of oil palm workers and their allies crashed the 11<sup>th</sup> annual meeting of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a multi-stakeholder organization that promotes “sustainable” palm oil, to protest the organization’s failure to uphold its own labor standards. </p>
<p>Arriving in colorful rain jackets on motorbikes and small pick-ups, the protesters braved a torrential downpour to deliver a blunt message to the RSPO: Stop certifying worker exploitation.</p>
<p>The protest was organized and led by Serbundo, an alliance of unions and community organizations whose members and supporters have been impacted by the country’s powerful palm industry. Indonesia is already the world’s largest palm oil producer and it plans to double the number of hectares dedicated to palm by 2020. </p>
<p>After thirty minutes of chanting “end outsourcing” and other slogans, the protest leaders were escorted inside the locked gates of the Santika Convention Center for a hastily arranged meeting with the RSPO Secretary General Darrell Webber, where they read a prepared statement and presented him with a list of demands. </p>
<p>Serbundo’s official statement noted that despite the Indonesian government and corporations’ claims that palm expansion helps generate employment, most workers on palm plantations earn poverty wages with little hope of advancement. On many plantations the majority of workers are casual laborers who have no job security, benefits, and often are paid well below the legal minimum wage. These workers must buy their own tools and protective gear, further depressing their wages and unnecessarily exposing them to toxic pesticides. Most work under unreasonably high target quotas (with wage deductions and other penalties), forcing them to bring their children and spouses to work. </p>
<p>The protesters also highlighted the gap between RSPO’s public statements, which include a commitment to require its members to uphold fundamental labor rights, and its track record of sidelining workers and labor issues in general: Despite their essential role in generating wealth for the industry, workers have never been represented on the RSPO’s executive board, which has twelve seats for palm oil industry companies and four for environmental and social organizations. The lack of worker involvement has meant that none of RSPO’s grower members have faced even a single complaint for violating the labor standards in RSPO’s “Principles &amp; Criteria.” </p>
<p>Serbundo’s claims are supported by <a href="http://www.laborrights.org/stop-child-forced-labor/resources/empty-assurances" target="_self">three new case studies</a> published today by International Labor Rights Forum, which document labor trafficking, child labor, poverty wages, and hazardous work on two RSPO-certified oil palm plantations in Central Kalimantan and North Sumatra. </p>
<p>While it’s too early to tell if the protesters’ bold action will result in any greater commitment to labor rights by the RSPO, Serbundo and its partners are determined to keep up the pressure on.</p></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/ILRF/international_labor_right/~4/Uf2GXb7UGSg" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/international_labor_right/2013/11/workers-give-message-to-rspo-dont-certify-abuse.htmlPALEA Back as Regular Workers in Pact with PAL tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bf90b53ef019b011371f7970d2013-11-14T10:07:05-05:002013-11-14T10:10:34-05:00By Philippine Airlines Employees' Association The union Philippine Airlines Employees' Association (PALEA) hailed a settlement agreement signed today with the management of Philippine Airlines (PAL) that provides for the re-employment of some 600 members as regular workers. In a private...Labor Rights<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><em>By Philippine Airlines Employees' Association</em></p>
<div id="post-body-8758187514297426083">
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341bf90b53ef019b01133782970b-pi" style="float: right;"><img alt="PALEA protest" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341bf90b53ef019b01133782970b" src="http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341bf90b53ef019b01133782970b-320wi" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px 5px;" title="PALEA protest"></img></a>The union Philippine Airlines Employees' Association (PALEA) hailed a settlement agreement signed today with the management of Philippine Airlines (PAL) that provides for the re-employment of some 600 members as regular workers. In a private ceremony in a downtown hotel in Mandaluyong at noon, officers of PAL and PALEA signed the agreement.</p>
<div>“Resistance saved PALEA’s regular jobs. If we had accepted rather than fought the outsourcing scam implemented in 2011 then we would have become contractual workers trapped in an endless cycle of 6-month endo jobs. Or worse we would have become unemployed in this jobless growth economy. Instead we will be returning to our regular jobs in the next few months.” said Gerry Rivera, PALEA president.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The agreement provides for an improved separation package of 200% per year of service and P150,000 in gratuity pay for PALEA members. Within three months PAL shall process the applications for re-employment of PALEA members who will be given priority for hiring in regular positions.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>“We owe this hard-won victory to the steadfast fight of PALEA members and the fervent solidarity of workers, community and Church groups both here and abroad. PALEA’s victory is the victory of all workers,” Rivera explained.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>He added that “We thank PAL management led by President Ramon Ang for recognizing that an amicable settlement is preferable to continuing labor strife. We hope to build on this agreement and the protection of job security it provides towards rebuilding labor management relations in the flag carrier.”</div>
<div> </div>
<div>At 5 pm today, hundreds of PALEA members will gather in the protest camp outside the PALInflight Center near Terminal 2 to hear a thanksgiving mass to be celebrated by Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo. Tomorrow representatives of PAL and PALEA will proceed to the other protest camp near the Mactan International Airport in Cebu to meet the concerned workers there.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Rivera noted that “We pledge to the riding public that as regular workers we can better provide quality service and safe travel. We call on our supporters to lift the boycott PAL campaign as PALEA’s demands have been substantially met.”</div>
<br>
<div>PALEA is planning a victory march, program and concert at the protest camp later this week. Last November 8 at the height of super tyhoon Yolanda, some 550 PALEA members out of the 600 affected, assembled and voted to ratify the draft agreement negotiated by its officers.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><em>For background on the workers' struggle, watch this video.</em></div>
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/ILRF/international_labor_right/~4/rP7bYSPGUS8" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/international_labor_right/2013/11/palea-back-as-regular-workers-in-pact-with-pal-.html